Aerogels are ultra porous three-dimensional (3D) structures composed of up to 99.98% air and supported by cellular or fibrous networks. It has excellent physical properties, such as ultra-low density, high specific surface area, low thermal conductivity, low acoustic impedance, etc., which makes it show great potential in the fields of energy storage, chemical catalysis, electronic sensors, acoustic insulators, aerospace and thermal insulation. However, due to the extreme preparation conditions of its common preparation technologies, such as freeze-drying and supercritical drying, which lead to high energy consumption, high time consumption and other drawbacks, as well as harsh equipment conditions, it is difficult to meet the growing demand for aerogel materials in many fields. Therefore, how to prepare high-performance aerogels under the condition of low energy consumption and low consumption is still a research hotspot.

In view of this, Sun Yat sen University has developed a compensation strategy preparation method of aerogel materials and prepared conductive gel poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene/polystyrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS) by this method. Low density (6.3-21.6 mg/cm) was obtained by adjusting the weight ratio of PEDOT/PSS to acrylamide and the drying temperature ³)、 Aerogels with high porosity (>99%) and low shrinkage (5.3%), and the conductivity of aerogels can reach 81.1S/m. The aerogel is used as the collection of green energy for wet gas power generation. The article is entitled "Compensation strategy for constructing high performance aerogels using acrylamide assisted vacuum drying and their use as water induced electrical generators", which was published online in the journal Chemical Engineering Journal.

Figure 1 Schematic Diagram of Compensation Strategy Decentralized System

The drying method of aerogel proposed in this paper mainly relies on: under the acid-base interaction between acrylamide and PSS and the polar effect of acrylamide on PEDOT, the function of frozen acrylamide crystal in it is similar to that of ice crystal in freeze-drying when creating porous structure, so as to build a three-dimensional porous structure of PEDOT/PSS. Then, under vacuum drying at high temperature (80 ℃ or 110 ℃), acrylamide crystals slowly sublimate to maintain the porous structure of solid PEDOT/PSS, so as to realize the preparation of aerogels.

Figure 2 Principle of Aerogel Preparation Process

In addition, the researchers also found that the addition of acrylamide can improve the conductivity of PEDOT/PSS aerogels based on the aerogels prepared above. Through Raman spectrum analysis, acrylamide promoted the conversion of benzene structure to quinone structure of PEDOT, and improved the conductivity. The team members applied the above PEDOT aerogel to the field of wet gas power generation. Through the water absorption of hydrophilic groups, the internal ionizable chemical groups of PEDOT aerogel adsorbed ions to varying degrees, generating potential difference, and realizing wet gas power generation.

Figure 3 Application of PEDOT aerogel in wet gas power generation (Figure a-c) and principle of conductivity enhancement (Figure d-e)